Boys Bolder At Dad`s Side

June 02, 1987|By Jim Spencer.

Little boys are more sociable with strangers when their fathers are around than when just their mothers are there, says a Loyola University researcher.

Psychologist Susan Kromelow found that of 19 boys with a secure bond to each of their parents, 10 were bolder with Dad nearby, and five were equally sociable with either parent. Only four were more sociable with Mom around.

Some psychologists believe that people are born with a predilection toward being sociable or shy, but Kromelow`s research establishes the importance of context.

``Fathers may engender more risk-taking in kids,`` says Kromelow, who tested white middle- to upper-middle-class toddlers at 18 months and 21 months of age. ``Maybe rough-housing (between fathers and sons) prepares kids for risk-taking. So when the father is there, it is a cue to do something risky, like interacting with a stranger.``

Kromelow`s testing did not reveal a similar tendency in little girls, suggesting that at a very early age fathers begin to interact differently with sons than with daughters.

PONDEROUS PONDERERS

Faced with the immediate challenges of a competitive world market, America`s corporations are filling their ranks with doers instead of thinkers, says Chicago personnel consultant James Challenger. Among the kinds of job titles that are on the outs with U.S. business are planners, research and development, computer theorists and scientists, according to Challenger.

American business now wants employees who can help them make money immediately by improving their products or services. This is not necessarily the best way to go, Challenger adds, but it is a fact of professional life. Corporate mergers have forced staff reductions, and many of them have come in the nonproductive ends of business. Where there are duplications of jobs, Challenger says, like as not, the first people to go are the ``extra resident intellectuals.``

The future of planners and research-and-development types will come in the area of consulting work, where companies may hire them on an as-needed basis and not pay them insurance or pension benefits, Challenger said.

This same thinking is being applied generally to production workers, he adds.

MONEY TALKS

According to Hallmark Cards, money is the most popular graduation gift. An estimated 85 million graduation cards mailed this year should contain some monetary reward. The average amount of the gift, according to Hallmark, is about $25.

SHARED AUTHORSHIP

The United States Constitution was drafted by 52 men who worked for 18 weeks preparing the document.